[Nine-headed Dragon. Nine heads. Each one... stronger than the bird.]

[Merely waking up... is... a disaster.]

...

The "Nine-headed Dragon" mentioned by the Nameless Cocoon was presumably the Great Black Heaven Dragon.

And the "bird" was likely the Three-Eyed Golden Crow from the Sea of Boiling.

The Nameless Cocoon’s grasp of human language was poor, but Shi Ming could still clearly extract the information without any trouble interpreting its meaning.

’Nine heads, and each one is stronger than the Three-Eyed Golden Crow?’

Was the Three-Eyed Golden Crow just that pathetic,

or was the Great Black Heaven Dragon just that strong?

Shi Ming mulled it over. He had previously obtained some rough information about the Great Black Heaven Dragon from his Eye of Intelligence. He knew it was originally a dragon with three heads and six limbs that had later mutated into a nine-headed form. For millennia, it had spent most of its time in a deep slumber, with only brief periods of light sleep.

During these light-sleep states, the Great Black Heaven Dragon would generate dreams that affected reality, causing frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, acid rain, and volcanic eruptions in the Fujing Mountain Sea Region.

Moreover, it was an intelligent creature.

Its intelligence, however, was filled with violent and destructive primal instincts.

"It’s that strong? If I were to bathe in its blood, couldn’t I rescue you directly?"

Shi Ming continued his bluff.

The Nameless Cocoon had only possessed its new consciousness for less than two years. Although it sat on a treasure trove of experience from myriad eons, it was unwilling to delve into it. In terms of thought processes, it was akin to a twelve-year-old human child.

’Relatively easy to trick—oh no, I mean, guide.’

Its Eternal Life Law ability was certainly impressive, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other ways to handle it.

When it came to dealing with creatures that had some intelligence, but not a lot, Shi Ming had his methods.

[Memory... buried too deep... hard to dig... From far away, I can feel... its aura is very dangerous. Comparable to that day... the tentacle monster.]

The "tentacle monster" it referred to was the Abyss Lord.

"Then do you know how many other creatures as powerful as this one exist?"

The Nameless Cocoon paused.

It seemed reluctant to speak of them.

But then it figured that telling Shi Ming these "trivial matters" could prevent the guy from overestimating his abilities and getting himself killed. It wouldn’t do for the promising candidate it had finally found to perish. ’If this one dies, who knows how long I’ll have to wait for another human with Spiritual Power strong enough to communicate with me.’

[At the polar ice... the Hot Sea... the volcano...]

’It only detected three? And two of them are places I already know about.’

’Besides the Abyss Lord in the Sea of Boiling and the Great Black Heaven Dragon at Fujing Mountain, there’s also a Holy Hall-level Sea Beast in the Arctic or Antarctica?’

An idea flashed in Shi Ming’s mind.

"That dragon is currently in a deep slumber."

"And what if I told you I have a way to benefit from this Nine-headed Dragon?"

[Zero sea beasts would believe you.]

Shi Ming ignored the Nameless Cocoon’s mockery and instead began to paint a picture of a rough plan with a grand outcome.

"To tell you the truth, Ah Jian, I’ve already learned that a great ship like the Black Gold, the ’Lighthouse,’ is going to confront that Nine-headed Dragon."

[Hah.]

"There’s a saying: ’If I can wield great power, it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants.’ If you give me intelligence on the Nine-headed Dragon, I can get a head start in the race against the Lighthouse. I’ll be the one standing on a giant’s shoulders, ready to swoop in when they’ve worn each other down. Or I can even use the Lighthouse’s own strength to help me pluck the fruit that would otherwise be out of reach."

"That way, I’ll have a much better chance of saving you."

"But if I don’t act—if I just shy away from the danger and ignore this opportunity—I’ll be falling behind from the very start."

Shi Ming spoke with righteous conviction, his tone fervent.

Then, his tone shifted.

"Think about it. If we don’t interfere, and the people on that ship actually manage to obtain the Nine-headed Dragon’s power, what do you think they’ll do next?

"They’ll use that power to kill every High-level Sea Beast that poses a threat.

"Even if they can’t kill you, the undying one, they can still capture you. They’ll study you, piece by piece. For an insect like you, that’s more painful than mere imprisonment. But if you give me intel on the Nine-headed Dragon, I can promise to sabotage that ship’s plan, even if I end up with nothing myself.

"A mutual loss is better than letting one side win. You know that better than I do."

Shi Ming paused.

A speaker needs to give his audience time to digest the words.

"Your Spiritual Power is strong. You should be able to sense that I’m not lying.

"When humans lie,

"their faces flush, their hearts race, and their bodies have subtle reactions. You can easily look this information up; you can’t be fooled. You just need to check for yourself to know I’m not deceiving you."

At that moment, Shi Ming’s eyes looked utterly pure and honest.

They were as clear as those of a child who could not tell a lie.

Especially after fusing with the Formless Pure Ice, his entire aura seemed free of impurities, like a flawless piece of jade carved from the ice itself.

’Right now, he was just trying to get some intel.’

’What harm could there be in that?’

The Nameless Cocoon contemplated for a full three minutes.

[Hmm... I do not think... that great ship and you... can obtain power from it.]

[But... since you asked with such sincerity... I will graciously... give you a tiny bit of help. However, after you receive this intelligence, you will understand even more clearly... that wanting to absorb its power... is nothing but a foolish fantasy for weak little insects like you.]

[But no matter what... you must destroy... that ship’s... plan.]

[This is... an initiation. A pledge of loyalty, to use your human term.]

"Alright!"

"I’ll show you my sincerity. I’m willing to make an enemy of a King-level Wandering Ship if it means achieving our goal."

’"For you, I would betray the world"... Ugh, the cringe! It’s too much!’

Shi Ming easily suppressed the smirk tugging at his lips. He had been rigorously trained never to laugh in a serious situation.

The Nameless Cocoon was very pleased.

When Shi Ming had infiltrated the Sea of Boiling in search of power, it had sensed that he was the same kind of insect as itself—one who would take any risk, use any means, and even borrow the power of other races to achieve its goals.

’If only he were a true insect,’ it thought, ’that would be even better. Maybe after I escape, I could take him on as my underling.’

’A King Insect needs subordinates, after all.’

’Life is long, and immortality is dull.’

’One must find different ways to pass the time.’

Having agreed to Shi Ming’s request, it ceased communication and began to search its memories, accumulated over myriad eons, for all information regarding the "Great Black Heaven Dragon." This was an agonizing process that consumed a vast amount of Spiritual Power to index and search, but it was a necessary investment.

Its Spiritual Power burrowed through the endless ocean of memories like a worm.

It ignored all unrelated memories, trying to prevent its current "insect-sonality" from being contaminated.

If it absorbed too many past memories, its current reincarnation would be meaningless. The being that recovered its past-life memories would no longer be its current self. This life’s "insect-sonality" would lose its identity, an outcome it desperately wanted to avoid.

’Found it.’

’Hm? There’s some other stuff mixed in, too?’

’Whatever, I’ll just give it all to him.’

’It’s what he wanted.’

The Nameless Cocoon fused the memory fragments into a single, materialized droplet. A powerful fluctuation of Spiritual Power howled invisibly across the seabed. Within the cocoon wrapped in black silk, energy rapidly converged. Then, with a WHOOSH, Shi Ming felt as if he had fallen from a great height in a dream. His consciousness snapped back from the depths of the sea to reality.

It took him less than a second to stabilize his Spiritual Power. When he did, he saw an ethereal droplet of consciousness floating before his eyes.

Within the droplet was detailed intelligence on the Great Black Heaven Dragon, including visual fragments and even footage of it in battle.